Spatial Relations and Map Reading for Firefighter Exam Study Guide (page 2)

Questions on Finding Your Location or Direction

Map questions may also ask you for your location after following a series of directions. These questions, although worded differently, should be answered using the same procedure:

1. Look at the map.
2. Read the question.
3. Return to the map and follow the directions given.
4. Go back to the question and examine the answer choices to see which one matches the direction or location you found in step 3.

Try this procedure on the questions that follow, using the same map given previously.

3. You are on the corner of First Avenue and Abby Street. Drive east two blocks, south one block, and west half a block. You are in front of the
   1. hospital.
   2. library.
   3. fire station.
   4. grocery store.

Trace the steps given in the question on the map, paying careful attention to the specific directions, north, south, east, and west. Turn the map as you go to help you keep track of where you are. You have arrived in front of the grocery store, choice d.

4. You are walking north on Bruce Street. You turn right on Second Avenue, walk two blocks to Douglas Street, and turn right. What direction are you now facing?
   1. north
   2. south
   3. east
   4. west

The answer to this question is also found by tracing the steps given in the question. Again, turn the map as you are reading the directions indicated. If you are facing north on Bruce Street, a right turn will leave you walking east. Turning right onto Douglas Street leaves you facing south, choice b.

Reading a Floor Plan

A floor plan is a map of the interior of a building, apartment, or house. The ability to read floor plans and visualize your position is critical if you want to be a firefighter. Firefighters sometimes find themselves crawling down dark and smoky hallways. Knowing the location of doors, windows, and rooms in an apartment on fire may mean the difference between life and death. If fire conditions in the apartment worsen, you do not want to crawl into a closet while trying to find the exit. Firefighters also need to know the location of fire apparatus and personnel, the fire itself, and victims; furthermore, they have to be aware of the risk of the fire spreading to adjoining buildings or apartments.

Preplans are similar to floor plans except they will often show features on the outside of the building in addition to the floor plan, although they may have somewhat less detail on the interior of the building. Preplans are frequently made for businesses, churches, and similar types of commercial buildings. These plans are often carried on the trucks for reference by the crews at an incident. A preplan may include information on access roads around the building, connections to sprinkler systems, location of gas or bulk material storage, locations of fire hydrants, information on alarm systems in the building, and other critical information for the crews.

In questions based on floor plans, your ability to observe and judge location and potential hazards is being challenged to see if you have what it takes to become a firefighter. The floor plan or fire scene may be accompanied by a brief explanation of what the picture shows. The questions may ask the number of exits, windows, bedrooms, or smoke detectors. You may be asked where you would position a ladder to attempt a rescue or which room you are in based on a set of directions.

Fire departments often assign letter or number designations to buildings during an incident. This helps to avoid confusion on what is the front, back, left, or right side of the building. Usually, the "front" of the building is considered the side that fronts the main road that the trucks will use to approach the building. This side will be designated as either Side A or Side 1. The other sides of the building are then numbered sequentially clockwise around the building. For example, if you are standing in front of Side A and are looking at the building, the side on your left would be Side B or 2, the back would be Side C or 3, and the side on your right would be Side D or 4. Letter designations are probably a little more common. Corners of the building are designated using the two adjacent walls, Corner A-B, and so on. If letter designations are used, the floors of the building are numbered as divisions, starting with the ground floor as Division 1. The second floor would be Division 2, and so on. You may see exam problems that use this type of information for a spatial relations question.

Handle floor-plan questions in the same manner as those on maps. Before attempting to answer any questions, look at the diagram. Familiarize yourself with such features as doors, windows, doorways, patio doors, fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors. Read each question carefully; then return to the diagram to find the answer. After you have determined your answer, try to match it to the choices. The correct answer should be apparent, but read each choice carefully to avoid making unnecessary errors. Never jump at one option without carefully reading all the others.

Apply the procedure outlined above to answer the following questions.

Office buildings and apartment buildings may post floor plans at the front entrance or by the elevators to assist visitors. Firefighters arriving at the scene of a fire must be able to read a floor plan quickly and develop a mental picture of the interior. When there is a fire, the smoke can be very thick, so firefighters need to know their way in and out without seeing where they are. The diagram shows two apartments on the first floor of a building. Answer questions 5–8 based on this diagram.

5. Firefighters arrive at the scene to find that there is a woman trapped in the bedroom of apartment 2. There is a fire in the living room, and the entrance to the apartment is blocked by fire. What would be the most direct way to rescue the trapped woman?
   1. Go into the apartment through the patio doors.
   2. Climb through the kitchen window.
   3. Climb through the bedroom window.
   4. Climb through the bathroom window.

The question asks for an alternate way to reach the bedroom of apartment 2, since the entrance is blocked. A look at the floor plan shows that choices a, b, and d would bring the firefighters through the living room, where the fire is located. Choice c, which brings you directly into the bedroom, is the fastest and safest means of entering the apartment and rescuing the woman with the least risk of injuring either her or the rescuers.

6. A fire in the kitchen has filled apartment 1 with smoke. You must reach the bedroom to search for sleeping occupants. Visibility is near zero as you are crawling down the entry hall. How many doors will you encounter before you reach the bedroom?
   1. none
   2. six
   3. four
   4. two

To answer this question, locate the entrance to apartment 1 and trace a route down the hall and to the bedroom. You would pass the bathroom door and a closet door before the bedroom: two doors, choice d.

7. How many bathrooms are there in apartment 1?
   1. one
   2. two
   3. three
   4. four

Review the diagram. Two apartments are shown, labeled 1 and 2. The question asks for the number of bathrooms in apartment 1. Apartment 1 contains one bathroom, choice a. If you counted all the bathrooms shown on the diagram, you would incorrectly choose b.

8. How many smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are there in apartments 1 and 2?
   1. six
   2. ten
   3. four
   4. three

The answer is a. You must read the question carefully to see that it asks you to look at both apartments and to find two items, the smoke detectors and the fire extinguishers. There are two smoke detectors and one fire extinguisher in each apartment. If you counted the smoke detectors (but not the fire extinguishers) in both apartments, you would have chosen choice c. On the other hand, if you counted both smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, but only in one apartment, you would have thought choice d was correct.

The ability to understand spatial relations is an important firefighting tool. Can you apply what you see and mentally navigate yourself through the city or a building, while paying close attention to detail? That's what these questions try to assess.

How to Answer Spatial Relations Questions

• First, familiarize yourself with the map or diagram.
• Next, read the question carefully to determine what you are being asked to do.
• Return to the diagram and find your own answer before reading the choices given.
• Reread the question and the answer choices. Don't rush; read all the possible choices. Misleading answers are placed on the test to see if you can be caught not paying attention.
• If the answer you found does not match the choices, look at the question carefully, return to the diagram, and go over your options to see what you missed.
• Remember, the answers to the questions are right there in the map or diagram. Take your time, read to understand, and think through your answers.